Custom Command Center

Materials: Akrum base cabinets (two 30″ with large drawers, two 18″ with cabinets), two lengths of Langan countertop (96″ and 49″)

Description: As a photographer, designer and artist, I was in need of a desk solution that would accommodate all my computer/camera equipment and peripherals, plus tons of storage for materials and supplies, and with extra room on top to spare so that it could actually be used as a work/craft surface.

While I am lucky to be blessed with the space for an 11-foot desk, sadly no such product seemed to exist. I headed to the Ikea kitchen section for answers. 4 Akrum base cabinets and 2 lengths of Langan wood countertop solved the problem. The cabinets are designed to sit on legs (keeping them flat on the ground would mean the bottom drawers and cabinets would scrape against the floor), but to avoid extra height I decided to forego the legs and instead placed a few pieces of 1/2″ plywood underneath to lift them just enough.

I needed a 132″ top, and decided to create it out of two lengths of the Langan. The pieces were cut, sanded, stained, and waxed; with the excess used along with the set of Capita stainless steel legs to make a shelf. A hole was cut in one of the pieces to allow cords to pass through.

Even without the cabinets sitting on legs the desk is still several inches taller than normal desk height (32″ instead of 28-29″) but an adjustable-height chair solved the problem.

Since the drawer and cabinet faces are not pre-drilled, I was able to choose interesting hardware from another source for the pulls and handles (library card catalog pulls, which I filled with bits from vintage NYC street maps).

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Jules Yap "I am Jules, the engine behind IKEAHackers and the one who keeps this site up and running. My mission is to capture all the wonderful, inspiring, clever hacks and ideas for our much loved IKEA items".

Oh how I wish I would have seen this post before I bought my desk! I needed something almost exactly like this. Brilliant. If you don’t mind me asking, how much would you say the desk came to (minus stain, handles, etc.)? Thanks so much. Great job!

My wife and i love this workspace you created.We have a large glass paned door that we are trying to make into a desk top and are wondering what the final height of the cabinet with the legs removed is.Thanks for sharing this.

I investigated lots of tabletop options and the pre-made one from ikea was by far the cheapest and easiest. The (light) sanding took all of 10 minutes, and the stain maybe half an hour to apply (then several hours to dry). The wax was probably the most (relatively) difficult, but the the thing was done in an afternoon. If you are just getting “a piece” of wood, I would be worried about using a piece of plywood or something for a desktop as it would very likely bend/warp. Also make sure there is support under the seam or place where two piece are joined. Good luck!

i don’t know if the anonymous is talking about a kitchen- or a desktop-cabinet, but in both cases you can evaluate the possibility to cut a hole in the countertop, a bidimensional hole, i mean larger in the superior half and smaller in the bottom side. like that you can use it as a lid, and not having it falling, and putting a waste bin underneath the furniture, or a paper bin

Thank you so much! I will definitely copy your work (too bad I don’t have such beautiful door handles; I will go with the Lindstal ones), but I will go for an “L”-shape.

I will also use Faktum (that’s the European name for Akurum) cabinets, as well as the Lidingö doors (you did use those, righ?), in white. I will also use the Faktum cabinet for a small fridge.

For the countertop, that sounds like a lot of work I won’t be able to do. I will see at Ikea itself which one looks better; an alternative would be to go to my local wood market, which, apparently, also sells countertops, but has a lot more models; they also cut the wood to the size you want and, more importantly, connect the two pieces (I’ve forgotten what they’re called, but they drill holes into the pieces, and then you can connect them using some kind of small, well, connecting parts).

If this doesn’t work out, I will go for the 246cm piece and the 186cm piece. This will make for a huge desk.

See my crudely drawn pic here. The thing in the middle is this fridge thing (it needs those little 10cm Bestå stands, because it’s only 60cm high). I will also attach three white Vika Curry legs, for increased stability.

Thank you so much! I will definitely copy your work (too bad I don’t have such beautiful door handles; I will go with the Lindstal ones), but I will go for an “L”-shape.

I will also use Faktum (that’s the European name for Akurum) cabinets, as well as the Lidingö doors (you did use those, righ?), in white. I will also use the Faktum cabinet for a small fridge.

For the countertop, that sounds like a lot of work I won’t be able to do. I will see at Ikea itself which one looks better; an alternative would be to go to my local wood market, which, apparently, also sells countertops, but has a lot more models; they also cut the wood to the size you want and, more importantly, connect the two pieces (I’ve forgotten what they’re called, but they drill holes into the pieces, and then you can connect them using some kind of small, well, connecting parts).

If this doesn’t work out, I will go for the 246cm piece and the 186cm piece. This will make for a huge desk.

See my crudely drawn pic here. The thing in the middle is this fridge thing (it needs those little 10cm Bestå stands, because it’s only 60cm high). I will also attach three white Vika Curry legs, for increased stability.

Allison: I must admit, it is actually a knock-off of the chair that you are thinking of. Still a splurge for me though!

Anonymous: The cabinet units are open at the top but are designed to be physically fastened/attached to the countertops that cover them with screws. So in terms of “stability” they are very stable. Regarding putting thousands of dollars of electronic equipment on a piece of wood that bridges so large a gap, I couldn’t really speak to that. I had actually purchased some 2×4′s thinking that additional support was needed for the gap that I had (30″), but the friends who came over to help me cut/install it (one who happens to be a furniture designer at pigeontail.com and one a fabricator at kontraptionist.com ) told me that it was beyond absurd and that the wood was plenty strong. I had thought that it would bend or warp or somehow crack and break under the weight of my 27″ monitor, but they even going so far as to climb on top of it and jump up and down. But with a 66″ gap, again, I couldn’t say. Personally I wouldn’t trust it without additional support. But then again I was not even prepared to trust 30″.

Yes, my countertop is the Lagan one you linked to. Mine is quite a bit darker because it was sanded, stained and sealed with wax which (in my opinion, anyway) gives it a more custom/refined look and feel.

i didn’t even notice the terrarium at first. it’s beautiful! i love the container. i’ve been wanting to order a terrarium off etsy for awhile now.

the only thing we have success growing around here is weeds. perhaps i should try transplanting them. i hadn’t considered watering with a spray bottle. i had been fretting over how to control the water leakage.

the plant in the hanging white ikea ceramic containers on the right is a clump of clover lifted from my backyard, and it’s doing great as it is essentially a weed. there are no pebbles in the bottom since the larger of those containers has a hole in the bottom for drainage (i water it a bit every day with a spray bottle so it doesn’t dribble all over the desk though).

the plants in the glass terrarium on the left are a mix of succulents, i don’t know what they’re all called, but i am promptly killing them, hah. the ones called “hens and chicks” are doing the best. there is a layer of pebbles and charcoal in that one.

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